


The Birthday Girl

by Flantastic



Category: James Bond (Craig movies), James Bond (Movies)
Genre: Birthday Fluff, F/M, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-08-10 16:17:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7852252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flantastic/pseuds/Flantastic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Eve Moneypenny’s birthday celebrations go wrong there's one man she can rely on to make everything better - her friend, Bill Tanner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Birthday Girl

**Author's Note:**

> A HUGE thank you goes to a-forger-and-a-point-man over on Tumblr for the amazing cheerleading. Billy wouldn't have ended up the same without your input darling.
> 
> I thought it was about time I gave this lovely couple their own fic and, as it's a birthday fic, what better day to post it?
> 
> Happy birthday to Eve... and me.

_  
_

 

Eve slipped her bag off her shoulder and hung it on the coat tree in the corner of her office.  She wasn’t sure exactly _why_ there’d been a coat tree in her office when she and M had moved into the suite but as they both rather liked it, it was allowed to stay.

She’d been working as M’s executive assistant for almost three years and she enjoyed it immensely.  Gareth Mallory wasn’t so bad once you got to know him and they had a good relationship.  Eve tried to make sure that M didn’t have to think about the minutiae of his job, organising his calendar with a ruthless efficiency, fielding all his phone calls, making sure all the departments reported to him on a regular basis, and in return he was more than appreciative of her efforts and had come to rely on her to help him to carry out his daily duties.  He was a generous boss, taking care to ensure that she was happy and ensuring she could take her holidays whenever she wanted and didn’t work stupidly long hours.  Although, to be fair, those last two could be difficult at times.

She checked her watch.  8.47am.   M had a regular Monday morning telephone appointment with the Foreign Secretary which should be almost over by now.  She’d hung her coat next to M’s when she came in and his phone line was active so she guessed he’d be more than ready for a cup of coffee by the time his next appointment, a video conference with herself, Tanner and two representatives of the CIA, was due.  There was a small ante room just off her office which had been converted into a kitchenette at her request.  Some visitors questioned why Eve should be so keen to make M’s coffee for him but the truth was M loved his gourmet coffee and he was more than happy to let Eve help herself to it.  In any case, what most people didn’t know was that most of the time it was M who actually made their coffee.  He said it gave him a chance to stretch his legs and think about something other than the next international incident for a moment or two.

Eve went into the kitchenette, carrying a fresh litre of milk and flicked on the kettle.  Hearing the outer door open she craned her neck backwards and saw Bill wandering in.

“Good morning Mr Tanner.  Coffee?”

He smiled when he spotted her.

“Good morning Miss Moneypenny.”  He set down the file he was carrying on her desk. “Yes please.  That would be lovely.”  He came and stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame.  “How was the Lake District?”

“We didn’t go.”

Bill pursed his lips in an expression of annoyance.

“Don’t tell me the sainted Lance stood you up again!”

“Don’t say it like that,” she chided him softly, “he couldn’t help it.  He had a thing at work that he couldn’t get out of.”

“A thing?”

She shrugged.

“I don’t know.  He’s in corporate finance.  I probably wouldn’t understand it if he explained it to me.  I don’t really care.”

“You should when it’s your birthday treat Pennypen.” He said solemnly.

She smiled at his nickname for her as she took down a large cafetiere from the shelf over the fridge.

“It’s fine.  He’s promised to make it up to me.  He’s taking me up The Shard on my birthday.”

Bill laughed.

“I hope that’s not a euphemism.”  He deadpanned.

It was Eve’s turn to laugh.

“My god.  Me too!  No, he’s bought us tickets to go up to the viewing deck at the top at six o’clock.”

“The sun sets around half past six at the moment.” Bill commented. “London will look beautiful from up there at that time of day.”

The kettle finished boiling and Eve quickly measured out the correct amount of coffee beans.  She popped them into the grinder and flicked the switch.

“Your birthday’s on Wednesday, isn’t it?” Bill asked.

She nodded as she dumped the freshly-ground beans in the pot and added the hot water.  She pressed on the lid and set the egg-timer that sat on the counter.

“It is.”  She paused in getting cups and saucers out of the cupboard to smile at him.  “As well you know.”

“That’s a shame.  Q’s challenged me to another quiz night.”  The Golden Guinea was a pub at the opposite end of Vauxhall Bridge to MI6.  It held a quiz every Wednesday night and every week a group of MI6 employees went down after work to have a go.  The previous month Q had entered the quiz as a team of one for the first time and had decimated all the opposition with ease.  Tanner had been determined to beat him ever since.  “I was rather hoping you might come along.  Your encyclopaedic knowledge of popular culture is invaluable.”

She grinned.  

“You know he’s cheating, right?  He correctly answered a question about Little Mix last time he went…”

“I don’t even know what that is.” Bill commented soberly.

“Exactly, and neither does he I’ll warrant.  Sneaky little toad.”

“If I could only work out how he was doing it.”

The timer went off and Eve depressed the plunger in the cafetiere.

“You watch.  In the next couple of months he’ll launch a new communications doodad that can covertly access the web for the Double-Oh program.  I’ll bet you anything he’s trialling something he’s made for Bond.”

“Do you think those two are…?”

“In love?  Shagging?  Secretly co-habiting?  Yes to all of those things.  They’re potty about each other.  It’s rather sweet, don’t you think?   That they think no-one has noticed?”  Eve quickly made their drinks.  White, one sugar for her.  Black, two sugars and a dash of cold water for Bill.  Two spoons of Coffee-Mate, three of sugar for M.  Bill wrinkled up his nose.  Eve saw and laughed.  “I know.  I asked him once why he insists on drinking high quality coffee with that stuff in and I think it’s basically boils down to the fact that his wife won’t let him at home.”

Bill snorted with laughter.  Right on cue, the door to M’s office opened and the man himself came out.  He was shaking his head.

“That man’s a bloody moron.  Why I have to spend every Monday morning listen to him blithering on is beyond me!”

Smiling, Eve picked up his coffee and took it out to him.

“Downside of the job I’m afraid Sir.”  She said.

“Thank you Miss Moneypenny.  You’re an absolute star.”  He replied, taking his coffee off her and taking a sip.  “Right.  What’s next?  Someone from the CIA, isn’t it?”

Eve picked up her tablet from her desk and handed Bill his file.  They followed M back into his office.

~

Monday morning went quickly and without incident but the feeling of calm was shattered at lunchtime when Bill rang up from Operations.  Bond had ended up in the mother of all gunfights, slap bang in the middle of the Vatican.  M went straight down to oversee the fallout while Eve quickly cancelled all of his appointments before joining him there.

They all worked around the clock and by the time they got word that Bond had managed to smuggle his target out of Rome, late on Tuesday night, no-one had had much sleep.  When they finally arranged for Bond to rendezvous with an extraction team, M thanked Eve and sent her home.  She took advantage of the car service for once and got home just after ten o’clock.  A quick shower later and she was finally able to slip into bed…

Her alarm went off at 6.15am and she groaned as she flopped over and crawled back out of bed.  Bloody typical.  After staying awake for most of the previous forty-odd hours, she’d been so keyed up she couldn’t get to sleep until what felt like five minutes before she had to get up.  She climbed back into the shower to wash her hair.  It was going to be a long day.

“Happy birthday to me.”  She thought wryly.

She arrived in her office just before nine and smiled at the sight that greeted her.  Her desk had been dwarfed by an enormous (if somewhat dishevelled) bouquet of red roses and white lilies.  The flowers had obviously been untied and re-tied by someone in security.  She grinned as she tried to imagine which one of the burly blokes on the front desk had checked them over.  She turned over the little card attached to them.

_“Love Lance”_

That was her boyfriend all over.  Ostentatious but a man of few words.  She was about to fetch some water for them when she noticed another smaller bunch of flowers, standing up in her mug.  It was more of a posy really, half a dozen brightly coloured anemones mixed with freesia and forget-me-nots.  She picked it up and saw that it had been tied with a length of red velvet ribbon which was as soft as down.  There was a birthday card propped up on the mug and she opened it, already guessing who it was from.  There was a drawing of a cutesy kitten in a basket covered in pink bows on the front with the words _“to a special friend”_ in an ornate font across the top.  Inside was a three verse poem telling her what a fabulous person she was and how she completed the sender’s life in every way.  She snorted with laughter.  It had been a standing joke ever since she met Bill that they bought crap cards for each other’s birthdays and Christmas.  He’d addressed it to _“To my darling Pennypen”_ and signed off _“Every word is true.  I simply adore you.  Love Billy x”._

She picked up the little bundle of flowers and sniffed them.  She loved anemones, something she had told Bill six months previously when Alice from Accounting had some in her bouquet at her leaving do.  She ran her fingers over the soft petals.  He’d remembered.  He really was the sweetest man she knew.

M walked in and went to the coat stand to shrug off his Mackintosh.

“Miss Moneypenny.”

“Sir.”

He turned and caught sight of the flowers.

“Is it your birthday today?”

“Yes Sir.”

“Huh.  I thought you just had one.”

“Twelve months ago, Sir.”

“Well many happy returns.”

He wandered into his office and Eve put down her flowers so she could go and put on the kettle for M’s morning cup of coffee.

~

The day passed without any double-oh related disasters but Eve was rushed off her feet preparing for the upcoming month's-end interdepartmental budget meeting.  She spent the day visiting the various departments in the building which meant she spent all day on her feet (if you didn’t count the half an hour she sat in R&D drinking tea with Q).  By the time 5pm rolled around Eve was glad to be leaving.  She always wore high heels to work – she was five foot eight but she preferred to tower over department heads when she was berating them for not getting their reports to M in a timely fashion.  She was used to the shoes and as she usually spent a fair amount of her time sitting at her desk their height wasn’t an issue but after a day like she’d had she was thankful for the pair of slip-ons she kept in her over-sized handbag.  She said goodbye to M (who she was pretty sure had been playing Candy Crush on his phone when she popped into his office, if the slight flush on his cheeks was anything to go by) and made her way down to the main entrance where she was being picked up.

She been dating Lance for the past five months so he knew where she worked.  Obviously she couldn’t tell him what she did and she got the feeling sometimes that he thought she was a simple secretary.  He could be a little bit condescending like that at times.  As she crossed the lobby floor she heard someone call out to her.

“Miss Moneypenny!”

She turned to see Bill hurrying over from one of the lifts.  When he reached her they fell into step and he escorted her to the door, ducking in front of her to open it for her.

“Mr Tanner,” she said, “I thought I might see you earlier today.”

“Sorry,” he smiled at her, “turns out our 007 isn’t the only agent getting himself into trouble out in the field.  I wanted to pop up and wish you a happy birthday but I’ve been swamped.”

She smiled at him.

“Thank you for the flowers.  They’re lovely.”

“I saw that Lance had sent you a bouquet…” he said a little hesitantly.

“And you sent me my favourites.” She took his hand and squeezed it.  “You remembered.”

Bill grinned.

“I wouldn’t forget something like that.”  For a moment he simply gazed at her, his grin softening into an affectionate smile.  Then he seemed to shake himself.  “So!  The Shard.  The tallest building in London.  I do hope you’re not afraid of heights.  I can see it from my flat you know.”

“Can you?  But you live in Stratford don’t you?”

“I do but I am on the seventh floor of my building. I have to hang out of the kitchen window a bit to see it clearly…” Eve laughed at the idea.  “I’ll be thinking of you when you’re up there.  Give Stratford a wave at about half six.  I’ll wave back.”

“I’ll do that.” She smiled.  Just then a brand new bright yellow Porsche 718 pulled up.  “This is me.  See you tomorrow?”

“Have a lovely evening Pennypen.”  He said quietly and he leaned in to kiss her cheek.  “Happy birthday.”  He squeezed her hand before letting it go.  Walking over to the car he opened the door for her and held her hand again as she got in.  He ducked down and gave Lance a cursory _‘alright mate?’_ before shutting the door and walking away.

“Who the fuck was that bald twat?”  Lance asked as he pulled out into the traffic.  Seven words and she instantly knew what kind of mood he was in.  She mentally reigned in the desire to sigh.  Instead she took a calming breath before saying;

“Don’t be rude.  That was Bill.  I work with him.”

“Well why was he holding your hand and kissing you?”

“He happens to be my friend and he was wishing me a _happy birthday_.”  She said pointedly.

“Oh yeah.  Happy birthday babe.”

“Thank you for my flowers.”

“Were they ok?  I didn’t have time to choose them.  Got Alice to order them.”

This time Eve did sigh quietly.  Alice was Lance’s secretary.  She leaned over and rooted through her bag to extract her flat shoes.  Lance noticed.

“Really?  You’re going to wear them?”

She looked at the little black shoes.

“What’s wrong with these?”

He shrugged.

“Nothing I suppose.  I just think you look sexier in heels.”

“That’s as may be,” she said, “but these heels need to come off.  I’ve been running around in them all day and my feet are killing me.”

“Fair enough I suppose,” he replied, “anyway.  If you wear those horrible flat things for a bit now, you can put your heels back on when we go to Freddie’s.”

Eve heart sank just a little bit.  Freddie’s was the cocktail bar that they always seemed to end up in.  It was the one they met in actually.

“Really?”  She asked.  “I’d kind of hoped we might go somewhere for dinner after The Shard.  I didn’t have time for lunch today.”

“We’ll do that later.” Lance said.  “The boys at Freddie’s all want to see you for your birthday.”

Eve doubted that very much.  The ‘boys at Freddie’s’ were all Lance’s friends.  Drinking buddies from his work.  She wondered about Lance sometimes.  He was a good man when he wasn’t in one of his moods (as he evidently was tonight).  He was hard-working, successful, good-looking, liked to do triathlons for charity so he was super-fit but he had a love of material things that didn’t quite sit well with her.  He loved his suits, his house and his cars.  He loved the stupidly expensive watches he wore.  Eve liked to look good at work but at home she loved her jogging bottoms, t-shirts and fleecy pyjamas just as well.   Sometimes she wondered if Lance really cared for her or just saw her as another pretty thing to show off.

She thought wistfully about the pub quiz at The Golden Guinea.  Perhaps that might have been nicer after the week she’d had.  She could’ve had a couple of pints and one of their nice home-cooked meals…

Lance parked the car a few streets away from The Shard and they walked over to it.  There was a bar by the lower entrance which they went in.  He ordered them a drink each and made a face when she requested a lime and soda water.  He complained that she should be starting her birthday celebrations early but she pointed out that she was hungry and tired and if she wanted to make it past nine o’clock, alcohol wasn’t the best idea.  They sat and chitchatted as they drank.  Eve couldn’t tell Lance much about what she did at work so he regaled her with tales of what he’d been up to.  Eve wasn’t sure that a financial institution of the size of the one that Lance worked for would crumble without his input but he certainly made it seem that way.

At five to six they went and presented their tickets and then took the two high-speed elevators to the viewing deck.  As Eve emerged from the short flight of steps up into the glass-walled atrium the view took her breath away.  London sprawled away from her in every direction, glistening and reflecting the low sun.  She cautiously approached the window, a little lightheaded from their quick ascent.

“It’s lovely,” she breathed.

She glanced around and saw that Lance had made a beeline for the champagne bar.  He returned with two glasses.  Handing one to her he touched their rims.

“Happy birthday.”

She took a sip and turned to the view again.  She couldn’t get over it.  London looked so different from so high.  She may as well have been in a helicopter, they were so high up.  She wandered slowly around the deck, simply enjoying the view.  Lance stopped at the first data terminal that was free and starting to call up information about the area he was looking at but she went on without him.  When she found the flight of stairs to the next floor she climbed them alone.

The next deck was open to the sky.  Still surrounded by glass, there was no roof and the air felt crisp and fresh.  She found an empty corner and sat down, not minding that the floor felt a bit damp from the rain earlier in the day.  She slowly sipped at her champagne, watching London below her.  It was rush hour and she knew that the streets and public transport would be bustling but it looked so calm from where she was.  For the first time that week she felt herself relax.

She kept an eye on her watch and at half past six she walked around to look towards Stratford.  She grinned, imagining Bill hanging out of his kitchen window, waving at her.  She wiggled her fingers in a mini wave of her own and murmured;

“Hello Billy.”

She went back down to see where Lance had got to and saw him chatting to the girls at the champagne bar.  He had another full glass in his hand and had his back to the view.  She wondered with some irritation how long he’d been standing there.  He smiled when he saw her.

“There’s my girl!  More champagne darling?”

“No thank you.” She said, putting her empty glass on the counter.  “I’m fine.”  Lance shrugged and ordered himself another before downing his glass.  Eve glanced out of the window and with a soft _‘oh’_ went towards it.  The sun was setting and London was beginning to darken.  Standing in the middle of it all, a few miles away, in the centre of Canary Wharf was One Canada Square.  It looked beautiful, the normally austere building burning brightly in the setting sun’s reflected glow.  It was stunning and she couldn’t help but stare.

“Are we going then?”

She snapped out of her reverie to see Lance standing beside her.

“What?”

“Well the bar’s shutting here in a minute and we need to get a move on if we’re going to get to Freddie’s before happy hour ends.”

“But the view…”

“Well, it’s getting dark now isn’t it?  It’s going to get a bit boring.”

Eve glanced back.  The lights on the riverboats were coming on.  She saw streetlights and advertising hoardings lighting up.  She saw car’s headlights and the lights from trains becoming clearer.  London was transforming below her and she realised she didn’t want to miss it.

“No.”

It was Lance’s turn to be confused.

“Come on babe.  You can’t be serious.”

“Oh but I am.”  She said, the first feeling of irritation flashing through her.  “You brought me up here to enjoy the view and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.  I’m going to take my time and then I’m going to get something to eat and then I’m going to get an early night because it’s my birthday and I’ll do what I damn well like.  I have no desire to sit in Freddie’s like we seem to do on every bloody date and drink too much and end up at yours for a boring shag before you roll off me and fall asleep!”

She hadn’t meant for that last part to come out but now she’d said it she wasn’t sorry.  He _was_ boring, she realised, with his materialistic tendencies and his obsession with turning every event into a drinking session.  Even now she could see he was beginning to get drunk and if he was drunk now then any sex later would be just dull for her.

“There’s no need to be a bitch about it.”  He grumbled.

“Isn’t there?” She snapped. “I thought you brought me up here to watch the sunset but you just suggested this time slot so we wouldn’t miss another night with those idiots you call friends.  Go to Freddie’s, hang out with your buddies.  I’m sure you’ll be very happy there!  In fact,” she added, aware now that the champagne girls were staring and not giving two shits, “why don’t you find yourself a new girlfriend while you’re at it?”

With a face like thunder he turned on his heel and left her alone.  She turned back to the view and tried to calm down watching the boats on the river…

She left just before it was fully dark and paused at the foot of the building.  It was just past eight o’clock.  If she jumped on a train she could be home in an hour.  The problem was, she was riled up.  It irritated her that she’d decided to spend her evening with that prick Lance.  It was her birthday Godamnit and she deserved to have a laugh or two.  Making a snap decision she headed off back towards Vauxhall.

~

The Golden Guinea was a quaint little pub full of olde worlde character.  It looked like it had come out of a Charles Dickens novel.  She loitered outside for a moment before she entered.  She could hear the drone of the quizmaster’s voice over the clink of glasses and the occasional swell of laughter.  Bill and Q would be in there along with a dozen or more MI6 employees.  She started to go in but as she opened the door she was hit by the warmth of the bar and another chorus of laughter and a wave of tiredness hit her.  She was hungry and no matter how quickly any meal she ordered came she knew it wouldn’t be soon enough.  And what if she had to push through the crowd to get to her friends?  What if there was nowhere for her to sit?  What if they all expected her to feel jolly because it was her birthday?

Abruptly she changed her mind and walked back out.  There was a little Metro shop down the road.  She’d see if they had any sandwiches left and just go home.  She shouldn’t have come.  She was too tired.

“Eve?”  She turned to see Bill trotting down the street after her.  He was dressed casually in jeans, a t-shirt and a pair of trainers.  “Eve!  Q thought he saw you.”  He paused as he saw her face. “Oh Eve.  Are you okay?”

She didn’t think she was and she shook her head.  Bill sighed and pull her into a gentle hug.  Eve clung onto him gratefully as he kissed her forehead.

“Oh sweetheart.  What did he do?”  She didn’t say anything for a moment.  She tucked her head under Bill’s chin and just enjoyed the feeling of his arms around her.  At work he always seemed the same height as her but that was probably down to her heels.  Now, standing in her comfortable shoes, he was able to envelop her in his arms.  He was so solid.  So dependable.  Such a contrast to the handsome Lance and his crappy, self-centred personality.  Eventually she pulled back.  “Do I need to break his legs for you Pennypen?”

She laughed, despite feeling miserable.

“No.  I’m more than capable of doing that to him myself, you know that.”

“I know.”  He smiled.  “Where were you running off to?”

“I was just going home.  I don’t think I should have come.  I missed lunch and I’m tired…”

“There’s a cracking Chinese just around the corner.” Bill interjected.

“I’m…”

“I’ll go and get my coat.  Give me two minutes.”

“What about the quiz?”

“Fuck the quiz.  Q was already twelve points ahead when I came out here.”

Eve laughed again and nodded, following as he walked back to the pub.

“OK.”

“I almost fell out of my kitchen window waving at you earlier, by the way.  Did you wave back?”  Eve smiled at the mental image of Bill risking life and limb just to wave at a distant building.  Bill saw it and smiled back.  “That’s better.” he said softly, “You look so much better with a smile on your face.  Let’s see if I can’t help to keep it there…”

~

He’d come back out of The Golden Guinea with his coat and a bottle of white wine.   He’d then taken her hand and led her down the street to a small restaurant called ‘Wing Wah’s'.  As they’d entered a short Chinese man came to greet them.  He bowed to them.

“We’come to Wing Wah!” He announced in a clipped Chinese accent, “You wan’ table for two or would beautiful lady rather sit away from ugly man who look like arse end of cow?”

Eve’s mouth fell open in confusion before she noticed that both Bill and the man were giggling.

“Cram it Mike.” Bill laughed. “Can you fit us in?”

“Course I can mate.” He answered in a south London accent.  “Want the table in the window?”

Bill said they did and they got themselves sat down.  As they settled Bill explained he and Mike had gone to school together.  Mike brought over two glasses and Bill unscrewed the lid on their bottle of wine.  He poured them both half a glass and waggled his eyebrows.

“Not a drop drunk until the label’s dry.” He deadpanned. He set the bottle down. “Sorry.  I had thought they might have had a better bottle of plonk in the pub that I could have bought us.”  Eve took a sip.  It was extremely dry but not bad.  She said so.  “You’re too kind.” He took a sip too and pulled a face.  “Also, you have terrible taste in wine.”

She laughed again and realised that she’d laughed more with Bill in the past ten minutes than she had all evening with Lance.  She smiled at him and took another sip as she decided what to order.

~

Dinner was lovely.  She switched to water after the first drink and by the time she’d finished eating she felt one hundred percent better.  After their plates had been cleared away there was a little disturbance by the bar followed by the staff all gathering around their table to sing her happy birthday.  She was presented with a bowl of chocolate ice-cream with single candle burning merrily in it.

“Sorry Pennypen.  They didn’t have any cake.”  Bill explained.

She grinned and blew out the candle.

_~I wish all of my birthdays could turn out this well~_

Bill reached across the table and took her hand.

“Did you make a wish?”

“I did.” She smiled, handing Bill a spoon so they could share.

~

After they’d finished they took a walk over Vauxhall Bridge and down past Lambeth Palace towards Waterloo.  The night had turned chilly so Bill put his coat over Eve’s shoulders and wrapped his arm around her to keep her warm.  In the other hand he carried the half-drunk bottle of wine.  Somehow they got onto the subject of Eve’s love life.

“I just don’t know any more Bill.”  She said, leaning into him as they waited to cross the road to enter the train station.  “I get chatted up by these guys and they’re handsome and funny and have good jobs but after a while I just start feeling like another accessory.  Something to go along with the car and the status.  I’m not sure I want to be someone’s arm candy anymore.  And it doesn’t help that people don’t know what I do.  I’m sure Lance thought I spent my days filing my nails in some typing pool somewhere.”

“Have you tried not being so beautiful?”  Bill asked and then chuckled when she deliberately walked into him, nudging him with her shoulder.

“Cheeky.” She smiled.  “And what about you.  When we met you told me you were engaged but you never mention her.”

“Sophie left me.  We were together for seven years but she got tired of me not coming home some nights.  When the job gets in the way of your personal life it’s hard.”

“Oh Billy.  I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“It’s OK.  I don’t think I told anyone at work…  She left a couple of years ago.  I’d spent so much time in the office trying to sort out the fallout from the explosion that Silva caused and the lost hard-drive and then when M died…” He trailed off, thinking for a moment and then shook himself. “Anyway!  Let’s change the subject.  It’s your birthday.  We shouldn’t be getting ourselves down by pointing out how crap we are at relationships.”

They were in the train station by then and Eve looked up at the display screens.  Her train was due to leave from the platform nearest to them in five minutes.  She was surprised to see it had just passed midnight and her train was one of the last of the night.

“It’s not my birthday anymore.” She said sadly.  “Where does your train go from?  Mine’s leaving from Platform Nineteen.”

She was surprised when Bill took her hand and started walking her towards her train.

“I’m not catching a train home from here.  I’m escorting you home first.”

She smiled.

“I’m a big girl Bill.  I can get myself home.”

“You might be a big girl, but I’m a gentleman and I’m seeing you home.”  He insisted.  He let go of her hand and used his Oyster card to get through the barrier.  Once through he turned to face her, a fond smile on his face.  “Come on.  You don’t want to miss your train.”

Smiling back at him, she walked through the barrier to be with him.

~

They got off the train at Barnes and ten minutes later they were at Eve’s house.  As they walked up the short path to her front door she fished out her key.  

“This is me.  Come on in.”

Bill shook his head.

“I should really to get going.” He said cautiously.

Eve looked at her watch.  Considering she’d wanted an early night it was really late.

“Don’t.  Come on Bill.  You’ll miss the last train home and by the time you get there on the night buses you’ll be turning straight around to go into work.  Stay with me.”

She opened the door and went in.  There was a pause before Bill followed.  She went through the hallway to the lounge.  She shrugged off Bill’s coat and turned to hand it back to him.

He was standing staring at her, a strange uncomfortable look on his face.  She frowned and walked towards him.  When she tried to take his hand he moved it away.

“Eve… don’t.  Please.  I’m not sure...  Not like this.”

She reached out again, this time snagging his wrist.

“Bill?”

“I’ve had such a lovely night with you but I don’t want to take advantage of you.  I’ve never wanted to use you like that… I… I care about you too much.”

Eve was speechless, trying to work out what Bill meant.  Suddenly she realised.

“You thought I was asking you to bed with me.”  She said gently. “Did you think I was offering you a fuck just to thank you for a nice night out?”  She chuckled.  “I meant the sofa Bill.  You can stay with me here on the _sofa_.”  Bill glanced at the piece of furniture and blushed.  “Oh Bill.  You sweet man.  I don’t want to...”

She studied his face, the words of dismissal dying on her tongue.  He’d thought she was offering to sleep with him as a thank you and he’d refused.  He’d refused because he didn’t want to treat her badly.  She smiled.  How could she have missed it?  Did she really mean that much to him?  He cared about her.  He really _cared_ about her.  She thought about all the ways he’d been there for her since the day they’d met.  They worked together.  Went to lunch together.  Met up in the pub after work, easily spending whole evenings chatting.  He remembered what her favourite flowers were.  He’d been there for her whenever a relationship had gone wrong for her.  He’d tried to steer her away from the men that were no good for her.  Even tonight.  He’d been there when she needed him and taken her out on the perfect birthday date.  He hadn’t judged her harshly for believing in Lance, even when he’d treated her the way he had.  She wondered if Bill might love her.  She thought that he might.

With that thought she stepped forwards and pressed their lips together in a chaste kiss.  Bill stiffened and she pulled back, questioning.  She studied his face as he raised a trembling hand and touched his lips.

“Oh Eve.” He spoke her name like a sigh and then he was kissing her back, running his hands up into her hair.  They moved in closer and she wrapped her arms around him.  No sooner had he started when he stopped.  He moved his face away from hers and smiled.  “I don’t want to take advantage of you Pennypen.  I never expected for this to happen this way.”

“How did you expect it to happen Bill?” She asked softly.  “Maybe take me out on a date first?  Buy me dinner?  I’m pretty sure you just did both of those things.”  He huffed out a laugh as she kissed the side of his mouth.  “You darling man.  Come with me.”

~

She led him upstairs and into her bedroom.  He watched as she turned on the bedside light and drew down the covers.  She went over to her bureau and removed her jewellery and her watch.  When she opened the drawer and took out a strip of condoms he gave out a little moan.  She left them on the bedside table and walked over to him, turning her back to him at the last moment.

“Unzip me?”

His hands smoothed over the back of her shoulders and she didn’t miss the way they trembled as he drew down the zipper on her dress.  She expected him to pull the garment off her but instead he gently pushed it off one shoulder.  His lips were warm when he kissed the side of her neck, slipping his hand around her waist.  She leaned back into his caresses.

_“So beautiful.”_

His whispered words tickled her skin and she turned around to kiss them out of his mouth.  He tugged her gently with an arm wrapped around her waist until their bodies were flush and for the first time she felt how aroused he was.

“Bill…”

She slipped her arms out of her dress and it fell to the floor.  She then tugged on the hem of his t-shirt.  He seemed unwilling to let her strip it from him at first but she was persistent, pulling playfully until he gave in and raised his arms.  He wasn’t like any of the other men that she’d been with.  He was bigger and much hairier.  She ran her fingers through the fuzz on his chest, pausing to stroke his nipples before smoothing her hands down to grip the soft rounded flesh at his waist.  She was so used to men that were all smooth skin and hard muscles that Bill felt like he was something completely different.  She looked up into his eyes – he was gazing at her adoringly – and she realised with a low coil of need in her belly that he was different.  He loved her and she wasn’t sure but she thought she might love him too.  She wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him again.  As they pressed their naked bellies together she wondered just how she hadn’t seen it before.  Bill dropped his head to bite lightly at her neck and Eve couldn’t help but giggle when she felt him smooth his hand unimpeded up her back.  He’d managed to undo her bra without her noticing.

“Where did you learn to do that?” She laughed.  He grinned at her and waggled his eyebrows but didn’t answer as he slid the garment off her.  The cheeky grin disappeared though when she reached between them to undo the button on his jeans.  He kissed her again, harder and more passionately.  “Come to bed with me darling.”

They lost the rest of their clothing and fell onto the bed together. He covered her body with his own for a moment and then he reached up to grab a condom.  Eve snuck a hand down between them and ran her fingers over his erection.  It was huge and Eve wondered with some amusement where he’d been hiding such a fearsome beast.  Bill swore and jerked away at her touch.

“Please don’t.” He laughed nervously.  “This will all be over before it begins if you touch me there.”

She smiled up at him and waited patiently while he fumbled on the condom.  She spread her legs as he laid over her again and angled her hips so he could line himself up.  He shivered as he pushed in.

He really was huge.  She wrapped her ankles around his back and grabbed his hips, gasping as he gained entry, stretching her and filling her to the limit.  Bill shifted, pulling back and pushing back in again and it felt wonderful.  He was so big, strong…

“Jesus… fuck no…”  Bill dropped his head and groaned as his back and hips suddenly jerked.  “Jesus fucking Christ I'm coming.”  After a brief pause he carefully pulled out and climbed off the bed again.  Looking around and spotting the bin by the bureau he disposed of the condom.  He looked back at Eve looking mortified.  “Well.  That was a bit shit.  I am so sorry Pennypen.  That wasn’t much of a birthday present, was it?”  She put her hand out to him, fighting the urge to laugh.

“Come back over here you lovely man.”

He got back onto the bed and she wrapped her arms around him.  He buried his face in her hair.

“I’m sorry.  You’re just so gorgeous and I was so nervous…  I’ve wanted you like this for so long.”

They relaxed back onto the bed.

“How long exactly?”  She asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Not sure,” he appeared to ponder her question, “but I _think_ it was from about the time that I first laid eyes you…”

She reached up and stroked the side of his face tenderly.

“Oh Billy.  Why didn’t you ever say anything you berk?”

He shrugged.

“I don’t know.  You were so pretty and you were going out with that accountant… the one with the Ferrari…”

“Brian.”

“Brian.  That was it.  And he was tall and dark and handsome…”

“And he cheated on me with two different girls.”

“…and then someone told me that you’d slept with Bond and it seemed like you had a type and I wasn’t it and…”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute.  Who told you I slept with _Bond?”_

Bill cracked up laughing.

“Now I think about it, I think it might have been Bond…”

“That utter bastard.  Wait until I see him.”

“So you didn’t?  What about Shanghai?  He seemed very impressed with your athletic abilities…”

“No!” She squealed, realising he was teasing her now.  “That man lives to flirt and I was flirting back as good as I got.  The closest he got was when I was shaving him with a straight razor.  I did a good job too, if I do say so myself, considering he kept trying to stick his hands down my blouse the whole time.  And besides, I never had a chance with him even if I’d wanted it.”

“Oh?”

“He only fucks women if he needs to for a mission.  He prefers men for pleasure.  Well, _a_ man at the moment.”

“Q?”

“He’s boffing his own darling boffin.”

Bill laughed and rolled them slightly so he was resting on one elbow.  He leaned over and kissed her.

“I never had him pegged for that.  In any case, I’m bored of talking about the illustrious 007’s love life and think I should turn my attentions back to yours.  I think I’ve recovered enough to have another go at giving you your birthday present.”

“Oh you have, have you?”

He licked two fingers and trailed them down her body.  She gasped when he slipped them between her legs.  It had been a surprise to learn Bill was well-endowed but she’d never have guessed how talented he was with his fingers.  He took his time, kissing her languidly as he toyed with her clitoris.  He stroked her lightly with just enough pressure to tantalise.  Every so often he would dip his fingers inside her, using her own wetness to ease the glide.  She tried to reach for his cock when she began to feel her orgasm approaching but he chuckled and shifted his hips away from her.

“It’s your turn darling.  Forget about me for a moment.”

A fizzle like electricity jolted through her.  His fingers were moving so slowly, so lightly, that she felt like she was slowly being driven out of her mind.

“Bill… oh Bill.”  She started to crest and Bill tucked his face into her neck, kissing her shoulder as she trembled.  He slowed the movements of his fingers and she whined, bumping her hips as she tried to get more pressure.  Just as the frustration was getting too much he did something odd with his fingers and suddenly she was coming harder than she could ever remember coming at the hands of another.  He eased her through it, chuckling as she relaxed.  Eventually he removed his fingers.

“What… how did you do that?”

He kissed her before slipping on another condom and rolling on top of her.  She gasped as he slid back inside her.  She was so slick there was very little friction as he began to make love to her again.  He kept his movements slow and the pressure light.  He slipped his hand under her waist and shifted until he could stroke into her, using the full length of his outsized cock.  On each thrust he switched from balls-deep to barely lodged before sliding in again.  He smiled at her when she looked up and she felt herself blush.  She wasn’t sure what she’d expected from Bill but she was pretty sure it wasn’t this.  The first fumbling orgasm had seemed more like him.  His sweet over-excitement.  Not this.  Not this slow love-making that was curling her toes and threatening to make her come again.  She kept expecting him to suddenly speed up and start fucking her, chasing his own pleasure like so many of her previous lovers but instead he took his time, shifting her every couple of minutes until he had the perfect angle.  She wanted to tell him that she couldn’t come from penetration alone but her previous orgasm had left her so sensitive she wasn't sure that was true anymore.  Every time she opened her mouth to speak he leaned over her and kissed her so softly that tears sprang into her eyes as she felt another orgasm begin to build.  She tensed up and trembled.  Bill must have noticed because he stroked her hair back off her face.

“Don’t fight it my darling.  I want you to come for me again.”

To help her he licked his thumb and reached down to rub the pad of it over her clitoris.  She cried out, arching her back as her orgasm swelled.  As soon as he felt her begin to come he shifted up onto his knees and supported her hips with his hands.  He sped up now, tilting her pelvis and making sure he made light contact with her pubis with every stroke, sending jolts of pleasure up through her body as he wrung every last shiver of her orgasm out of her.  Eventually it became too much for him and he dropped his head, gripping her hips tight as he came with a low moan.

He slumped over her for a moment, resting his head on her chest before he looked up and smiled at her.  His brow wrinkled when he saw she was still on the verge of tears.  He stroked her cheek tenderly.

“Are you alright Pennypen?  Did I hurt you?”  Eve shook her head, emotion striking her mute. She didn’t think she’d ever come so hard in her entire life and she was completely overwhelmed.  She tried to smile at him, trying not to let any tears fall.  When she blinked and she felt liquid slide down the side of her face he withdrew from her, quickly dealing with the condom so he could scoop her up into his arms.  She turned her head so he could kiss away her tears.  “Pennypen?”

She slapped his chest.

“Four years.”  She finally choked out.  He looked bewildered.  “Four fucking years you made me wait and then you get me into bed and make me come like that.  I thought you were going to give me a fucking heart attack!”  She slapped him again as he realised what she was saying and he started to laugh at her.  “You selfish rotten bastard.”

He grabbed the duvet and pulled it up the bed to wrap her in it.  He kissed her, his tongue flicking briefly into her mouth.

“I’m more than willing to make up for lost time if you’ll let me.”  He whispered.

~

Eve sat at her desk checking over one of the budget reports intended for M’s perusal later on.  For the second morning in a row she was tired from a lack of sleep but unlike the day before, she couldn’t quite wipe the smile off her face.  Bill had made love to her again before they fell asleep, spooning up behind her and making her come twice more.  When the alarm went off Eve had got her revenge on him by sliding down under the covers while he was still mostly asleep and giving him a wake-up blow job that had him coming in under five minutes.

Her usual commute into work was made unusually pleasant by Bill accompanying her.  There was nowhere to sit in the packed train so they stood by one of the doors, Bill’s arms wrapped around her waist.  They chatted about nothing in particular and every so often Bill would kiss the corner of her mouth.  Eve smiled at every stolen kiss.  He’d left her at Vauxhall Station so they wouldn’t be seen entering the building together.  He was still dressed in his jeans and t-shirt and he explained that he was going to get his spare suit out of his locker before starting work.  Before they parted he promised to cook her dinner at his place that night

Eve sipped on her coffee and checked the time.  She had an hour before the car would arrive to take her and M to the Home Office for a meeting. She wondered how much longer M would be in his office debriefing Bond following his excitement in Italy…

The outer door opened and Bill came in dressed in a slightly rumpled suit.

“Hello lovely lady.” He said quietly with a smile.

“Hello you gorgeous man.  What brings you up here?”

He offered her a file.

“Final analysis of the fallout from Bond’s mission.  Between us and Q Branch I think we’ve managed to contain most of the chatter about it on the net.”

She took the file.

“You shouldn't have.”  She quipped. “How romantic.”

“Speaking of romantic,” he said looking at Eve’s largely empty desk, “where did Mr Porsche’s flowers go?”

“I managed to catch our cleaner before she left this morning.  I gave them to her.  She loved them.”  He looked down and saw the little posy of bright blooms, still sitting in Eve’s favourite mug.  “They’re not going anywhere.”  She added with a smile.

Just then the door to the inner office opened and Bond walked out of it, chatting to M.

“… I mean, it’s not like I tried any of his robes on, although the papal tiara was quite fetching…”

M burst out laughing before noticing Bill standing by Eve’s desk.

“Tanner?  What’s with the footwear?”

Eve leaned over her desk to see and blushed when she realised Bill was still wearing his trainers.  She looked up at him and he shrugged.  He obviously didn’t keep a spare pair of shoes in his locker. She couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her.  Coughing to cover her mirth, she sat back down and took another sip of her coffee.

“Sorry Sir.  I stubbed my toe getting into bed last night.  I think I might have done myself a mischief.  Couldn’t get my regular shoes on this morning.”

“Oh dear.  Easily done though I suppose.  I hope it feels better soon.”

“I’m sure it will.”  Bill assured him.

“Terribly unfortunate.” Bond piped up.  “It sounds like you really need to take more care in the bedroom Tanner.”

Eve glanced at Bond who was grinning now.  His eyes were flitting between her and Bill.  Damn that man.  Less than a minute in the same room as them and he’d bloody well worked out that they’d spent the night together.  He opened his mouth to say something else when she cut him off.

“So Bond.  Have you been to see Q yet?  A little birdie told me he was rather eager to get his hands on your equipment as soon as you got back.”

Bond’s jaw clenched minutely and then he smiled.

“Not to worry.  I gave him a long, thorough debriefing last night.” He replied, curling his lip and making it sound absolutely filthy.

M was still standing there, looking positive that he’d just missed something but oblivious as to what it might be.  Eve wasn’t sure how she kept her face straight as she handed him the file that Bill had just given her and he wandered back into his office with it.

Bill watched as Bond walked over to Eve and leaned over, kissing her on the cheek.

“I’m pleased for you.  He’s a good man.” He murmured.

“He certainly is.” She replied.  

He straightened up and went to the door.

“Come on Tanner.  I’ll walk you back to your office.”  As they left she heard what sounded suspiciously like Bond slapping Bill’s back and an exclamation of; _“Well that took you long enough!”_

The door shut and Eve smiled to herself as she tried to concentrate on the report on her computer screen.

 


End file.
